There are lots. Can you handle spicy? What about offal? Are you going by yourself? with friends? are you sharing? do you care about a balanced diet? do you want a noodle dish? Whatever you do, don't order a lunch special.

I agree with Ericandblueboy - don't order the lunch special! And, remember, Joe's Noodle House was the name of the restaurant before the present owner. It does not mean that the noodle dishes are their specialties.

I have to say, I've been somewhat disappointed in Joe's over the past year or so. But, I've been spoiled by places like Lao Sichuan in Framingham. The peanuts with fried smelts are an example of that; over the years they've been transformed from a bowl of fried smelts with a sprinkle of peanuts, to a bowl of peanuts with a sprinkle of smelts, while increasing in price from $5 to $7. For those, I recommend going to Seven Seas in College Park which does them quite well, for $5. And though I've had beef tripe before and enjoyed it, their preparation wasn't at all to my liking. I've also found many of their noodle dishes to be almost entirely starch.

Having said that, I find that many of the best dishes at Joe's are things on the back wall that may (Chinese bacon with garlic scapes, which they call "garlic bean sprouts) or may not (tea tree mushrooms) be translated. Ask the woman at the counter to translate them for you.

Hmm, the tea tree mushrooms are now on the printed menu, with bacon. I'll have to stop by there tomorrow. Anyway, from the printed menu I've enjoyed the bacon with leeks, lamb with cumin, dry-fried beef, and Sichuan "beef jerky".

fwiw, xo taste in falls church has very small fried smelts with peanuts for about 5 bucks, iirc. i used them as a topping for the very boring ma po tofu (i know i shouldn't have ordered that dish there...). the smelts helped a lot.

The revelation on the smelt with peanuts at Sichuan Pavilion is that it's served warm, probably right from the wok. At other places it's served chilled or room temperature, and I find SPs version superior for that reason.

They're supposed to be scrawny! They are baby fish the size of matchsticks, after all.

ISTR that Joe's serves them hot (though it's been a few years) and I'm pretty sure that Seven Seas CP does as well. I do need to get to XO sometime soon. (Imagine, naming a restaurant after XO sauce, which isn't even anything in particular...)

I went to XO taste at Seven Corners, whichever town that's actually in. They had the fish on their lunch menu for $7, and told me a dinner portion would be $15.95. Probably won't be eatin' there anytime soon.